Make sure you keep track of them and this will aid in a healthy delivery and post partum experience.
Should you do pelvic floor exercises when pregnant.
This helps to reduce or avoid stress incontinence after pregnancy.
These muscles come under great strain in pregnancy and childbirth.
Elvie is a great app that helps you train your pelvic floor daily and helps you record your progress.
Doing pelvic floor muscle exercises kegels from early pregnancy onwards can stop those accidental wees in late pregnancy and within six months of childbirth.
In fact there is even an app for that.
Do this throughout pregnancy as long as you don t have pelvic floor symptoms such as painful intercourse or urinary urgency.
The pelvic floor consists of layers of muscles that stretch like a supportive hammock from the pubic bone in front to the end of the backbone.
Pelvic floor exercises help to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor.
Close up your bottom as if you re trying to stop yourself going to the toilet.
This loosening along with your growing baby pressing on your bladder may cause you to leak urine when you cough laugh sneeze or exercise.
Why pelvic floor exercises are important.
Pelvic floor exercises aren t limited to just kegels and they can be helpful even if you re not pregnant yet.
While pregnant it is a good idea to do pelvic floor exercises three times a day.
There are many tools out there to help you keep track.
Kegels can also help to relieve discomfort caused through pelvic pain.
How to do pelvic floor exercises.
At the same time draw in your vagina as if you re gripping a tampon and your urethra as if to stop the flow of urine.
All pregnant women should do pelvic floor exercises even if you re young and not suffering from stress incontinence now.
Practicing your pelvic floor exercises can help strengthen the pelvic muscles and prevent or correct most cases of pregnancy induced incontinence.
Practicing these exercises will help you feel connected to what happens inside your body as well as increase your strength and resistance to prevent problems related to this area.
Basic pelvic floor exercises maintain muscle tone in the pelvis and promote recovery after pregnancy and delivery.
Doing pelvic floor exercises will strengthen these muscles and help you control any accidents.
Pelaez et al 2013.
Performing kegel exercises during pregnancy is an effective way to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and help prevent incontinence pelvic organ prolapse and assist with labor and delivery.
Hay smith et al 2008.
Photograph courtesy of getty images.
During your pregnancy your pelvic floor muscles will loosen due to hormonal changes in your body.
Pelvic floor exercises can also prevent prolapse which is where the pelvic organs drop down into the vagina hay smith and dumoulin 2006.
